My little 30x40 build

swamp donkey · Mar 29, 2016

We bought our house back in August 2015. Now that I have most of the honey-doo's out of the way (yeah right lol) it's time for the shop! Here's what I started with back in mid-February.

Almost formed up, I thought it would be fun to take a pic from on top of the house.

Here's one of the two concrete trucks destroying my new crushed concrete drive lol. It was expected since it's fresh.

Although I did all the prep work, forms and rebar: here is the one man crew hard at work. This man is 54 years old and has done concrete work since he was 9 years old. He does outstanding pour and finish work at an EXCELLENT price.

swamp donkey · Mar 29, 2016

Now on to the framing. I think we started the weekend of Feb 20. Here's the progress of the weekend.

swamp donkey · Mar 29, 2016

On to the next weekend 2/26. Time to set trusses. Scissor trusses with 5/12 pitch with 2/12 inside.

swamp donkey · Mar 29, 2016

and just because I thought this was a cool pic...

Blazinzuk · Mar 29, 2016

Your correct that's a very cool picture

bullnerd · Mar 29, 2016

Nice.

Have they discovered trees yet in TX?

Richard Cranium · Mar 29, 2016

That was a very cool picture.
Keep posting your progress. Looking good so far.

ghlkal · Mar 29, 2016

Nice. Keep the pictures coming

swamp donkey said:
Although I did all the prep work, forms and rebar: here is the one man crew hard at work. This man is 54 years old and has done concrete work since he was 9 years old. He does outstanding pour and finish work at an EXCELLENT price.

Wow.

swamp donkey · Mar 30, 2016

Thanks everyone. We've had nothing but wind here lately so the guys that are going to install the sheet metal have been delayed. I'll play the waiting game for a while I guess. We have a 90% chance of storms today so that won't help matters. Hopefully they can get to it early next week and then I'll have some updated pictures.

prestigemike · Mar 30, 2016

You must be pretty excited to get this all finished up =)

swamp donkey · Mar 30, 2016

prestigemike said:
You must be pretty excited to get this all finished up =)

Absolutely!

MacTexas · Mar 30, 2016

I'm going to enjoy watching this one get finished.

swamp donkey · Mar 30, 2016

bullnerd said:
Have they discovered trees yet in TX?

There are very few trees out here in this area. My neighbor has been here since they built their house in 2005 and he says that they have lost several trees throughout the years. I'm assuming it's due to the blackland soil or "Black Gumbo" as someone referred it to in my other thread.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318473&highlight=soil+blackland&page=2

Either way I need to find out how to maintain growth of some trees for sure! We were hoping to plant a few inexpensive trees last fall but I was lazy

CNGsaves · Mar 30, 2016

Looking great OP !! :thumbup:

First TX build that I've seen that is not red steel.

Would yours be considered pole barn/stick hybrid ?? Are the pole brackets drilled/epoxied into place or what ?? I see some J bolts in concrete which I assume tie down the sill plate ??

For your soil, start gathering any and all compost you can get . . . . leaves, food scraps, grass clippings, etc . . . . and start "Making" you some good soil that you can dig giant hole where each tree will go.

Keep PIC's coming . . . we GJer's just LOVE new builds !! :beer:

swamp donkey · Mar 30, 2016

CNGsaves said:
Looking great OP !! First TX build that I've seen that is not red steel.

Would yours be considered pole barn/stick hybrid ?? Are the pole brackets drilled/epoxied into place or what ?? I see some J bolts in concrete which I assume tie down the sill plate ??

For your soil, start gathering any and all compost you can get . . . . leaves, food scraps, grass clippings, etc . . . . and start "Making" you some good soil that you can dig giant hole where each tree will go.

Keep PIC's coming . . . we GJer's just LOVE new builds !!

Thanks! I decided to build a wood pole barn/stick hybrid or whatever you want to call it because I don't have the equipment to build a red iron frame. I had several quotes for the shop and building it myself was about 35% cheaper overall.

Yes, the J-bolts are anchored into the concrete and holding the sill plate. I used some 1/2 x 6" lag bolts with large washers countersunk slightly to hold the posts to the sill plate. I also have some custom brackets made that I have not installed yet similar to these to pic below that will pick up the existing j-bolts next to the posts. I've just been too lazy to install as of yet.

Thanks for the advice on the soil. I know it's going to be more work to make something grow out here but we HAVE to get some trees plated!

billgreenwood · Mar 30, 2016

Where at in TX? I am putting up a pole barn on top of a slab also but I am not using a sill plate. I am using sturdi-wall brackets to attach each post to the slab. They are bolted down using 5/8"x6" long bolts that were run in with an impact gun after I drilled the holes. Here is a picture of one of the 40 foot sides of my shop.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

akcooper9 · Mar 31, 2016

swamp donkey said:
There are very few trees out here in this area. My neighbor has been here since they built their house in 2005 and he says that they have lost several trees throughout the years. I'm assuming it's due to the blackland soil or "Black Gumbo" as someone referred it to in my other thread.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318473&highlight=soil+blackland&page=2

Either way I need to find out how to maintain growth of some trees for sure! We were hoping to plant a few inexpensive trees last fall but I was lazy

You need to look into Burr Oak trees. They are native in Texas, they are pretty much disease free, their roots grow down (not out). The fastest growing oak if watered. They will take any kind of soil. We planted 24 in our yard last year and had 2ft growth!

swamp donkey · Mar 31, 2016

billgreenwood said:
Where at in TX? I am putting up a pole barn on top of a slab also but I am not using a sill plate. I am using sturdi-wall brackets to attach each post to the slab. They are bolted down using 5/8"x6" long bolts that were run in with an impact gun after I drilled the holes. Here is a picture of one of the 40 foot sides of my shop.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

We are in Caddo Mills, about an hour north east of Dallas. I've been watching your build as well. Hope they get your lumber issue straightened out soon!

swamp donkey · Mar 31, 2016

akcooper9 said:
You need to look into Burr Oak trees. They are native in Texas, they are pretty much disease free, their roots grow down (not out). The fastest growing oak if watered. They will take any kind of soil. We planted 24 in our yard last year and had 2ft growth!

Thanks for the tip. We are planning on going to a couple nurseries this weekend. I will be sure to look for that variety.

billgreenwood · Mar 31, 2016

While it is not what I had hope for the company is sending out some replacement lumber to augment the bad ones. I should be getting it today.

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shortykorte · Mar 31, 2016

I can't see the forest because of the trees so I guess that's blocking the swamp.

Nice start. Hope the wind lays down so you can get the metal on.

swamp donkey · Apr 5, 2016

I came home after work last Wednesday and there was equipment sitting in the drive.

Fast forward to yesterday. The guys were able to get started early yesterday morning. This is the progress throughout yesterday. They are not fast but I like how they pre-drill and make sure that every piece is as level as possible.

swamp donkey · Apr 5, 2016

As of yesterday evening here's where we are. I'm hoping they will have the gable walls up and the roof started today!

Bib Overalls · Apr 6, 2016

Going to be a nice shop building. I did 30' x 40' and it is really more room than you might think.

Will be coming down I-30 tomorrow on my way to Austin and the Lone Star Roundup. I you hear a horn in the distance tooting out "Shave and a haircut six bits" that will be me saying hi.

swamp donkey · Apr 6, 2016

Thanks, I'm looking forward to wasting lots of time out here in this shop!

I'll be sure to listen for that horn haha! We are headed to Lone Star Roundup tomorrow afternoon. It's always lots of fun. Drive safe :3gears:

swamp donkey · Apr 7, 2016

Update Tuesday 4/5/2016: I retract my statement about them moving a little slow. Tuesday the guys were able to get the gable walls and the roof sheeted. Here is what I came home to after work.

swamp donkey · Apr 7, 2016

And yesterday Wednesday 4/6/2016: The guys finished up most of the trim and hung the doors. Now just waiting on two sheets to finish around the walk-through door. Those sheets should be delivered this afternoon.

onemanarmy · Apr 7, 2016

did you install the walls yourself or did you buy a kit and have someone install? What is the door dimensions and ceiling height? I'm thinking about building something similar, but maybe a bit smaller overall.

swamp donkey · Apr 7, 2016

onemanarmy said:
did you install the walls yourself or did you buy a kit and have someone install? What is the door dimensions and ceiling height? I'm thinking about building something similar, but maybe a bit smaller overall.

I designed the building structure myself. I did the framing and set engineered trusses, along with help from my brother. The roll-up doors are 12' wide x 10' tall. Ceiling height is 12' at the eve walls, 14'5" inside at the center and just over 18'5" on the outside at the peak.

I was planning on doing the sheet metal myself but it's incredibly windy this time of year out here and a 5/12 pitch is pretty steep to walk on slick metal. We had everything ready for the guys to install the sheet metal. They took roughly three days from start to finish.

And of course now that it's almost finished... I wish I would have went bigger.

pmiranda · Apr 8, 2016

swamp donkey said:
We are headed to Lone Star Roundup tomorrow afternoon. It's always lots of fun. Drive safe

It's gonna be a busy weekend on the roads on the east side of Austin...
LSR off Decker/130 north of the river, MotoGP out at COTA off 71/130, and there's an Electronica music festival off of 183 near the river.
Everybody wants to make the most of this spring weather... so look out for motorcycles and take it easy!

Falcon67 · Apr 8, 2016

Really nice building - looking like a fun place to pile up stuff LOL.

>but it's incredibly windy this time of year
Typical. Breeze here lately is 20+, Several days over 35. Spring in Texas around and north of I-20.

Agree on the trees - as I recall since I haven't been that way in a while, it's a lot of post/burr oak and pine, mostly south of Greenville. Going to have to go native for any hope. But the whole area isn't much on trees to begin with. You can probably see 40~50 miles from the top of your shed on a clear day.

swamp donkey · Apr 8, 2016

pmiranda said:
It's gonna be a busy weekend on the roads on the east side of Austin...
LSR off Decker/130 north of the river, MotoGP out at COTA off 71/130, and there's an Electronica music festival off of 183 near the river.
Everybody wants to make the most of this spring weather... so look out for motorcycles and take it easy!

Wow, that does sound like it's going to be quite busy. As a fellow rider, I always maintain vigilance.

Falcon67 said:
Really nice building - looking like a fun place to pile up stuff LOL.

>but it's incredibly windy this time of year
Typical. Breeze here lately is 20+, Several days over 35. Spring in Texas around and north of I-20.

Agree on the trees - as I recall since I haven't been that way in a while, it's a lot of post/burr oak and pine, mostly south of Greenville. Going to have to go native for any hope. But the whole area isn't much on trees to begin with. You can probably see 40~50 miles from the top of your shed on a clear day.

Thanks!

You're right about the wind. It's been very consistent around here. It's daunting standing inside this shop when the wind is gusting 35+ mph.

That's a really good idea for a pic. Our house stands quite a bit taller, I might crawl up there a take a few pics next week sometime if it's clear out. Should be interesting to see.

kmoon · Apr 8, 2016

Very nice I like the 2 tone look

MagKarl · Apr 9, 2016

Metal work looks great from here.

swamp donkey · Apr 11, 2016

Thanks guys. Nothing much to report this week since we are out of town all weekend for LSR. I'm going to try to get the spray foam insulation scheduled later this week so I can start stacking all my junk in there soon!

Bib Overalls · Apr 11, 2016

As always, the LSR was a great experience.

Stayed away from Congress this year. It was fun until the local yahoos started crowding the rods out on the strip and parking disappeared.

swamp donkey · Apr 12, 2016

Bib Overalls said:
As always, the LSR was a great experience.

Stayed away from Congress this year. It was fun until the local yahoos started crowding the rods out on the strip and parking disappeared.

We had a great time as usual. We did end up on Congress.. not sure that will happened again, though. Not enough hot rods cruising and too many idiots are ruining a good thing.

pmiranda · Apr 12, 2016

Almost nobody in town knew about the event. I didn't see it on the local TV news site that I follow. I only knew it was happening from reading this thread, and I couldn't make plans to check it out

Virulentspores · Apr 12, 2016

Swamp Donkey,

Does your concrete guy do work in Dallas? If so will you PM me his contact info?

swamp donkey · Apr 13, 2016

Virulentspores said:
Swamp Donkey,

Does your concrete guy do work in Dallas? If so will you PM me his contact info?

I don't think he will, sorry. It was difficult to get him to venture out my way. Most of his jobs are east of Sulphur Springs area.

My little 30x40 build

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